Generator Dealer in Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville has a humid subtropical climate, but if you live here, you know that means that on a day-to-day basis, we have a wide range of temperatures, humidity, and weather events. Summer is hot, long, and wet, with brief, intense downpours, lots of thunder and lightning, and oppressive humidity that can make average highs in the low 90’s feel like 110 degrees. Winter brings 10 to 15 nights below freezing,  rare snow, and short but intense cold snaps that contribute to Jacksonville’s high number of power outages.

The fact that only one hurricane –  Hurricane Dora – made a direct hit on Jacksonville in the past 150 years can be misleading. Jacksonville and its nearby beaches frequently endure hurricane or near-hurricane conditions when storms cross the state from the Gulf of Mexico, or pass by the city going north or south in the Atlantic Ocean. More than a dozen hurricanes have pummeled Jacksonville with winds of 70-110 mph, torrential rain, and storm surges, triggering tornadoes, flooding, and major power outages.

When a weakened Hurricane Irma passed 75 miles to the west of Jacksonville on September 11, 2017, more than 300,000 homes lost power, many for five days or more.  Irma launched Jacksonville’s highest storm surge on record, which was boosted by runoff from torrential rains to push the St. Johns River to its highest level in 180 years.  Downtown water heights hit 5’6”, damaging the power grid and requiring 300+ high-water rescues.

While severe storms cause most of our major power outages,  almost every day, somewhere in the Jacksonville area, collisions, wildlife misadventure (think squirrels, snakes, and short circuits), or equipment failures also disrupt residential electric service.

Fortunately, once located, these can usually be resolved in  3-5 hours.  But not always. We’ve all experienced seemingly random power outages that can last for all or most of a day.  And, even a short outage can stop you and your family in your tracks when you aren’t prepared. 

For example, you could have been one of 13,000 homes that lost power when a Southside substation’s lightning arrester accidentally switched off transmission lines, or one of  22,000 JEA customers whose power went off when a connection between the power grid and a substation failed.  

And, if you live in Jacksonville, you know it’s not uncommon for random accidents to cause thousands of people to lose power unexpectedly —  from a small plane crashing into power transmission lines in Orange Park (6,000 outages) or an automobile hitting a pole in the San Jose area (3100  outages), to a Mylar balloon that triggered a transformer fire near Merrill Road (2800 outages).

If you live in the Jacksonville area,  you know that when your power goes out without warning  – whether caused by severe weather, an accident, or malfunctioning power equipment — it doesn’t take too long for food, supplies, and peace of mind to run low.

If you don’t have an automatic backup home generator, your options are limited when the power goes out. You can hope and wait for it to come back on. That means no cooking, no lights, no refrigeration, no heat or air conditioning.  There’s no TV, no phone chargers, no power for medical devices, and sometimes no running water.  When outages are widespread, hunting down an available hotel room – or a kind-hearted friend with power who can take you in — can use up what’s left of your dwindling phone battery charge.  That can be a gamble if the roads en route to your destination are blocked by high water, fallen trees, downed power lines, or traffic accidents.

While you can’t control the weather, you CAN avoid a replay of the inconvenience, worry, and insecurity that comes every time there’s a severe weather alert or a power glitch that could mean losing power in your home.

So, before the next season brings new power outage challenges,  you can explore an altogether better option—the peace of mind that comes with uninterrupted power from an automatic, whole-home Generac standby generator from Canter Power Systems. We are an award-winning Generac dealer in Jacksonville and look forward to serving you.